Gundam Seed: Eternal Light
by the-key-of-the-twilight
Summary: After the war has ended between the Naturals and the Coordinators, many grieve for the death of their loved ones. It seems that true peace is still miles away...
1. Sacred Memories

Gundam Seed: Eternal Light

By the key-of-the-twilight

A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first Gundam Seed fic so please be nice:sweatdrops: I haven't really decided when this fic is supposed to take place, but it's after Gundam Seed for sure. I don't know if I should make this fic take place after Gundam Seed Destiny or not. Anyways, I hope you enjoy:bows:

_Italics _stand for thoughts or back flashes.

* * *

Prologue:

_There was a mobile suit… flying toward a huge building…_

_Then, there was a gigantic explosion…_

_A little girl breathed heavily as she ran as fast as she could toward the exit…_

"_Daddy! Daddy!" she cried… but no one heard her… "Daddy! Please, someone help me!" Tears streamed down her face and the little girl tripped and fell. Flames surrounded her and smoke made it harder to breathe. _

_But all she could do was cry… she cried and cried… but no one came for her…_

"_Daddy… Sissy…" Her tears made a puddle on the ground. "Please someone help me…"_

_And with those words… a man appeared behind her, raised the iron bar he was holding, and everything went black…

* * *

_

Phase 1: Sacred Memories

Kira woke up with a heavy head and scratched at his hair. He sat on his bed in a daze for a while until he abruptly realized that Lacus was gone. He looked around and searched the room, but Lacus wasn't anywhere. The young Coordinator quickly put on a jacket and went out into the balcony. Instantly, he recognized the beautiful figure who was standing near the ledge.

Her pink hair blew softly in the wind and her blue eyes resembled the pure sky. She looked out into the distance in a state of silence and quietly sighed. Kira walked toward her.

"What's wrong, Lacus?" he asked, standing next to her. She sighed again and just shook her head.

"It's nothing… I'm just thinking of someone…" she replied half-heartedly.

"Thinking of whom? Athrun?" Kira said with a little amusement in his voice. Lacus pouted and turned to the smiling Coordinator.

"Oh Kira! You know very well that I love _you_ now!" she said as she smiled happily back at him. "Besides, Athrun is happy with Cagalli…"

"Oh, that's right! Heh… I guess I'm not too bright in the mornings, am I?" he admitted and Lacus shortened the distance between them. "Lacus…"

"Yes, Kira?"

"… I love you…"

"… and I do too…"

With that, they both kissed and held each other passionately in each others' arms. Afterwards, they let go and stared into the other's eyes with purity and bliss. Lacus rested her head on Kira's chest as he hugged her tightly in his arms. She closed her eyes in complete serenity as the sun began to rise in the distance.

* * *

"Athrun? Athrun?" Cagalli called, running down the stairs. She looked about, but there was no Athrun in sight. "Athrun!" She searched under the tables and checked the closet. Little did she know that a snickering figure stood behind her.

"Boo!" Athrun shouted as Cagalli showed now reaction. "Cagalli?" Suddenly, Cagalli turned around and hugged him, laughing hard.

"Nice try, but not good enough!" she laughed as Athrun hugged her back. "So, what's for breakfast?"

"Dunno. Maybe some omelets or something," Athrun replied casually. The blond girl just smiled back. "Huh? What's wrong?" Cagalli blushed slightly.

"It's just… it's just so peaceful now… I mean… you know…" she stammered. The young man nodded.

"Yeah, ever since the war's ended, it feels so peaceful. But… for some reason, I don't think it's all over yet…" As he said these uncertain words, he looked away from Cagalli.

"Wha- what do you mean?"

* * *

"It's just so peaceful…" Lacus sighed as she looked out upon the glistening ocean. The wind blew gently at her desolate figure and her hair flowed with it.

"Sissy!"

Lacus immediately turned around.

"_Sissy!"_

A little orphan girl and her twin sister were playing tag.

"Sissy, wait for me!" the younger twin cried.

"_Sissy! Wait for me! Don't go so fast!"_

"Mina! Come back here!"

"_Lacus!"_

Tears gathered in the rose-haired girl's eyes. She had missed those days so much. The days when she was with her father and her sister… But her sister was dead… She disappeared when she was six years old. She was gone and would never return.

"_I'll always protect you…"_

"_Really, Sissy?"_

"_Of course, Lumina… I'll protect you no matter what. Even though we're twins, I'm still older than you are."_

"_But, won't you get tired of protecting me?"_

"_Of course not! Why would I?"_

"_Well… heh… I don't know…"_

"Lacus!" Kira's voice interrupted her thoughts. The Coordinator ran towards her, waving his hand. "What are you still doing out here? It's time for breakfast." Lacus silently nodded and quickly followed, but took a last look at the ocean. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Lacus, what's wrong?"

"It's just… It's just I wish that _she _was here…" she replied quietly.

"She?"

"My- my sister."

"Oh, I see… Um… why isn't she here?"

"She's dead."

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked.

"No, it's alright. It's not your fault," she said and turned around with her head down. Slowly, she smiled again. "Well, let's have breakfast, shall we?" She walked toward the house, pulling at Kira's sleeve. "Come on!"

_Lumina…

* * *

_

A girl sat on a chair in a forlorn chamber, looking down at the stone ground. A lone, barred window allowed only a few streaks of light to warm the room that was as cold as ice. The girl's hands were clenched and worn. Her gown was beautifully decorated and lovely hairpins decorated her soft, sky-blue hair. A plate of food lay beside her as her breakfast. It contained nothing more, but stale bread and a cup of green tea. Master Zala had told her that green tea was good for her voice.

But Master Zala was dead. If Master Zala was dead, then why was she still in this damp prison? Even she did not know the answer to this question.

_Why am I still here? Is it my fate to be here… forever?_

Her hands clenched harder.

_Why? Why me? What do I have that makes me so special?_

Tears filled her eyes and they streamed down her face as she looked up at the ceiling. Her light blue eyes were full of sorrow and pain. Then, a harsh voice called.

"Lumina! It's time for your presentation to the master!" the man who approached her prison commanded. He took the keys out of his pocket and fit them into the lock of the barred door. He signaled for her to follow him. And so, as she had for the past twelve years, Lumina obeyed and accepted her fate…

* * *

A/N: Heh, that's was my first chapter and I think that was very bad! It was a little confusing, I do have to admit. Yes, my character is Lumina if you hadn't noticed. I did mess up the relationships a bit when I made Lumina, Lacus' sister. Oh well, please review! 


	2. What Matters Most

Gundam Seed: Eternal Light

By the key-of-the-twilight

A/N: Welcome back peoples! This is Phase 2 and I thank the people who have actually read this:bows: I am truly grateful! This fanfic isn't really good so far, but I'll try to make it better. Well, enjoy!

Artgirl150: Thank you for my first review and yes, hopefully sometime in my story Athrun and Kira will have their SEED mode.

Here are some notes about my story:

Lacus has a sister.

Yzak has a Seed. (Really… does he?)

There will be a few (or some) Gundams that I made up myself.

Shinn, Stellar, and the other Seed Destiny people will probably appear very late into the story. However, I don't plan to add them in since I practically know nothing about them. (I've only seen Gundam Seed)

The following pairings exist in my story:

KiraxLacus

AthrunxCagalli

DearkaxMiriallia

And some others…

_Italics_ are thoughts or back flashes.

(Heh… just wanted to make things a little clearer for my story…)

* * *

Phase 2: What Matters Most

Yzak stood up and stretched his arms. His back ached like crazy and his head felt heavy. He certainly had not slept well. The light-haired boy walked slowly to the window and violently pulled the curtains away. He squinted as bright light entered its way to his room, lighting up the dark surroundings.

Two figures were running outside and Yzak could tell easily whom they were. Who else could mistake an overly tanned boy with blond hair and a cute, orange-head girl chasing each other and laughing?

"Catch me if you can, Mirialla!" Dearka laughed.

"Don't go so fast!" the girl smiled back. The two of them jumped over rocks, ran through bushes, and collided into other objects that existed in the big yard. Dearka made an abrupt turn and almost crashed into a tree. He took the tree as an advantage and climbed up. "Hey, that's not fair!"

"Well, too bad! You'll have to catch me up here!" he teased. Milly pouted and looked about for another solution.

When she couldn't find any other way, she gave up. "Okay, I lose. You win. Happy?" Dearka slid off the tree and nearly fell into a bush nearby. Milly sighed. "Be more careful, okay?" Dearka walked up to her and laughed.

"I will, don't worry about me." And they both started to head back when Yzak came marching out of the doorway. "Oh Yzak, you're finally out of bed." The slight humor in her voice was obvious to the light-haired boy. Her eyes roamed off to a pretty tree nearby. "So, I heard that Kamasaki High still has some openings left…" Her feet lazily kicked at the ground. "Dearka and I have been thinking if we should join or not. You know, we as in Kira, Athrun, Lacus, Cagalli, and everyone else."

"Miriallia and I called everyone to make sure they wanted to go while you were sleeping," Dearka added in. Yzak made a face at his partial attempt at making a joke. "So, now, do _you _want to go?"

This question made Yzak think for a bit. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, since everyone else is going, I might as well go. What's the worst it can be?" The last half of his statement was a muffle.

"What did you say?" Dearka asked, clearly for amusement. (Sheesh… He likes being amused in the morning, doesn't he?)

"Nothing…"

"Fine, be that way." Suddenly, Milly looked at her watch and stared at Yzak's pajamas.

"Oh, by the way Yzak," she said, "we're leaving in about twenty minutes to meet with Kira and Lacus. You better get changed." The light-haired boy slightly blushed and looked down at what he was wearing.

"Right. I'll get to that immediately," he replied quietly and headed back into the house as the others followed.

* * *

"Yzak, you're _finally _awake!" Cagalli cried as Yzak passed through the kitchen after he had changed into a light jacket and jeans. She handed him a plate of French toast and scrambled eggs. "Here's something to eat. I bet you're hungry. Don't worry, we still have about fifteen minutes left and the high school's not far off."

Yzak took a small bite from his toast and was surprised at how sweet a piece of bread could be. The scrambled eggs were also overly flavored because Athrun had poured nearly half of what was in the saltshaker. As Yzak grimaced at the extremely salty eggs, Athrun avoided his gaze.

"What's wrong with these eggs? They're horrible!" he said with disgust. He coughed and wiped his mouth. Athrun flinched.

"Err… I'll be going now… I'll wait for you outside, okay Cagalli?" Athrun stammered and quickly fled for the door. Yzak gave Cagalli a long stare.

"What's that about?" he asked, but Cagalli just simply smiled. He made a face and dumped the remaining food in the trash. The blond girl was relieved and headed out the door.

"Come on, Yzak! Let's go!" Dearka said as he took Milly's hand and started for the door. "Race you!" However, Yzak frowned. He was not in a mood for such childish games. When was he ever in a mood for childish games? Dearka followed suit after seeing Yzak's glum expression and left with Miriallia. Sighing, the light-haired boy was the last one to leave.

* * *

"Athrun! Cagalli!" Kira cried as he saw his friends running up the entrance. "We started to worry about you."

"What happened? We were waiting for you to fill out the application," Lacus said, holding papers in her hand.

"Well, Yzak overslept and he wouldn't stop complaining about his breakfast," Cagalli explained and watched Athrun flinch at the corner of her eye. "So, what are those papers in your hand?" Lacus looked down at what she was holding.

"Oh, these?" she replied, "These are the applications for Kamasaki High. Here, everyone take one." And so, everyone followed her orders and each obtained an application. "After you're finished, take your application to the office, okay?" Athrun nodded and everyone else followed suit. "Alright then." Lacus took out some writing utensils. "Let's get to it, shall we?"

_Wow… she's sure prepared for everything…_, Miriallia thought.

Kira and Lacus went to the office to fill it out since they needed to turn them in there anyway. Athrun and Cagalli sat on a bench nearby and each found something hard to write on. Dearka and Milly sat on an adjacent bench. Yzak sat on the same bench as Dearka, without saying a word. The friends quietly filled out the forms and would whisper to each other from time to time, but all was still silent. The breeze felt nice and the trees swayed in the wind.

_Today's a good day to go outside and play…_, Cagalli thought. _Hey! Maybe we can go to the park after this!_ With all her excitement, she looked up but found everyone concentrating on his or her applications. She blushed slightly and continued writing.

After a while, the whole group met at the office after turning in their forms. Kira and Lacus turned the rest of them.

"So, what do you want to do now? " Kira asked, looking around for something to motivate him. "Anyone have any ideas?" He eyed everyone. Then, Cagalli considered what she had thought of before.

"What about the park?" she blurted out instantly and flushed slightly for her rudeness.

"The park? That's a wonderful idea!" Lacus cried and gazed happily at Kira. "Is that okay?" The boy nodded.

"Yeah. There's a nice park right next to here. It belongs to the Kamasaki High property," he informed.

"Then the park it is!" Milly shouted and Dearka smiled.

"Ugh… the park?" Yzak commented and scratched his head.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Dearka said.

"Sure… fun…" the light-haired boy muttered.

* * *

"Wow! It's so beautiful!" Lacus said in admiration. And it was indeed beautiful. Green trees populated the park and beds of flowers covered the area. Birds chirped and children laughed and played on the slide. The soft wind blew at her summer dress. It was certainly a place of peace and happiness.

Kira inhaled the fresh air and laughed. "It really is, isn't it?" Cagalli, being as stubborn as she usually was, interrupted the silence.

"Okay, let's go already!" she said and the others nodded.

"Alright, let's divide into groups. Lacus, do you want to come with me?" Kira asked. Lacus gleefully nodded. "So, Lacus will be with me. Athrun, you'll be with Cagalli?" The dark-haired boy and the princess of Orb blushed, but nodded. "Dearka and Miriallia?" The last remained couple nodded in unison. "Okay then… err… wait… what about Yzak?" Everyone stared at the remaining person who didn't have a girlfriend.

"Whatever, I don't care," he spat and avoided everyone's gaze.

"Well, he could come with us," Dearka said. "If he wants to…" Yzak looked away as Dearka waited for his opinion.

"Fine, I'll go with you and Miriallia," he sighed and followed along.

"Okay, then it's settled!" Lacus cried, "We'll meet back at sunset here, okay?" Everyone nodded in agreement. And with that, they parted.

* * *

Kira and Lacus decided to stay at the little children's playground and watched the youngsters play joyfully. Lacus sat down on the bench while Kira stood. A little pig-tailed girl was chasing a bigger boy. Both were laughing and they looked so _free._ Kira stared at the children as they reminded him of the children at the orphanage.

"Don't they remind you of the children at the orphanage?" Lacus asked, like she had just read Kira's mind. Kira silently nodded, but somehow couldn't bring himself to smile like Lacus could. She cocked her head and stared at the beautiful swaying trees. "It's so peaceful… It really is…" She inhaled deeply and exhaled. The fresh clean air felt wondrous as it filled her lungs.

"But… is it really that wonderful? I mean… things have never completely settled between Coordinators and Naturals…" Kira said and grimaced when he said the words 'Coordinators' and 'Naturals'. He hated using those words. He looked over at Lacus who was still smiling.

"Well, it doesn't seem that we can do anything now. We need to get on with our lives," she said, but sadness could be seen behind her smile, "We just need to try to be the best we can be." With that, she stared down upon the ground. Kira sighed and gazed into the sky.

"I guess you're right," Kira replied, "but I just can't stop thinking about what's happening right now at PLANT or Orb. I just can't believe the peace we're having right now when other people are suffering. And I feel guilty for having fun after all those lives that were lost." Lacus looked up at Kira and walked up to him. "Lacus?"

"Kira… I regretted losing my sister very horribly," she said quietly, "I cried so much and I wished I had spent more time with her. She was so dear to me and my father longed to see her again. But now… but now…" Tears began forming in her eyes and she choked on her words. "But now… he'll never see her again!" Hot liquid streamed down her cheeks. "There are many people… who are suffering… and many who have died… but what matters most is… those people who are still alive!" And she then collapsed into Kira's arms.

"Lacus…"

"Kira…"

"I understand. I get what you're saying." There was a long silence as Lacus wiped her tears away. "There are still many people alive. It's not worth it to be regretting for the past and lost ones. It's more important to be worrying about what's right in front of us." Lacus nodded at Kira.

"You see… my father… my sister… will always be in my heart forever. I want my father to be glad about the choices I make. I want him to rest in peace…" This time, she smiled a sincere smile. Kira smiled back at her.

"Come on. Let's just walk around the park," he suggested and Lacus agreed. And so, they strolled around the park enjoying the peace they had together.

* * *

"Athrun? Athrun?" Cagalli called, "Argh! Why do you always have to hide from me?" She stomped around searching for the sly young man. "Come out already!"

"Hello, Cagalli," he greeted as he came out from behind a tree.

"Wow… what a good hiding spot," Cagalli sarcastically remarked. Then, she observed her surroundings. "Why did we come to this area of the park anyways? People are having picnics here." She spotted a few families nearby sitting on blankets and eating. Athrun looked around as well.

"I don't know… We just kind of walked here and… yeah…" he stammered, not sure of what to say. The princess of Orb shrugged.

"Oh well, might as well enjoy ourselves," she suggested and turned as something caught her eye, "Hey! Look over there! There're some vending machines. We could get something to satisfy our craving mouths." Athrun smirked.

"Race you there!" He shouted and ran, giving him a head start.

"Why you cheater!" Cagalli laughed as she followed behind.

The race ended up in being a tie. Cagalli was skilled at being quick and Athrun was no exception. They stood for a while, panting, before the vending machines. Cagalli searched for some loose change in her pocket.

"Aha! There, I have about two dollars in loose change and a couple of one-dollar bills," Cagalli said as Athrun checked in his pockets, too.

"Well, I have some money, but I don't have loose change…" he said.

"Don't worry, I'll pay for it," Cagalli volunteered and went towards the drink vending machine. "I'm so thirsty. I guess I ate too much of your overly salty eggs." With that, Athrun blushed with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry… I was thinking about something else and then… the saltshaker just poured itself kind of…" he admitted.

"Thinking of what?" Cagalli asked as she hit the water button and waited for a bottle of water to drop down.

"Well… things…"

"Hmm?" she asked as she took a refreshing sip of water. "Hey, do you want water, too?" Athrun nodded in reply and Cagalli put in another couple of coins. After a brief awkward silence, she spoke up. "Yes, go on…"

"I was thinking about lots of things… the war… Coordinators… Naturals…" he said, grimacing. He didn't like sounding out the words 'Coordinators' and 'Naturals' anymore than Kira did. The blond girl was silent as she handed the water bottle to Athrun. He drank from it and set it aside. "Is it really fair for us to be having such peace like this when so many have died?" He looked away from Cagalli and stared at a happy family far off.

"Oh boy, you sound like Kira. He's usually the one who worries about these things, not you!" she replied and took another gulp of water. "What matters is what we have right now, not what we've lost." Athrun sighed.

"But, Nicol… his parents are so broken… he was such a good person… I just can't believe that…" Athrun started.

"That he died?" Cagalli interrupted, but she was talking in a more serious tone than before. "I can sort of feel what that's like… losing someone important to you…" She set her water aside next to Athrun's. The young man leaned against the cold stonewall and groped for its cold, hard touch.

"Of course you can. You lost your father… I lost my friend…" he mumbled, without looking up. "We were both victims of the war and heroes of the war as well…"

"Yeah…" Cagalli sighed, trying to look past the dark hair that covered his downcast face. "But aren't you happy that the war's over? I bet Nicol is proud of you…" Athrun looked up.

"And I bet your father is proud of you, Cagalli…" he said smiling.

"Thank you," the girl whispered and blushed. "I think my father would like you…"

"Hmm? Like me?" Athrun replied in confusion.

"You know, like you to be… engaged with me…" The two of them flushed terribly and avoided each other's looks. "I- I'm sorry… I just wanted to tell you that…" She looked back at Athrun and he glanced at her. "I… really love you…"

"Me… too…" Athrun replied and spotted Cagalli fiddling with the ring he gave her. There was a long awkward silence. Then, Cagalli broke the ice.

"Come on! Let's get something to eat!" she shouted and took Athrun by the hand.

_I guess… I shouldn't worry that much… I have Cagalli now… I'm not alone…_, Athrun thought. _I was never alone…_

_

* * *

_

It was getting darker now and Miriallia thought she could see a glimpse of the moon. She sat on a bench with her legs crossed, looking up at the beautiful sky. Dearka slept beside her, snoring away. Milly glanced at the sleeping young man and giggled to herself.

_Wow… it seems like it's been forever since we ever had time to enjoy ourselves…_, she thought happily. She swung her legs and hummed a little tune. Then, she suddenly recalled an unpleasant memory… _Tolle…_

Tolle had meant so much to her. He was such a good and kind person. She missed him so much…

"Maybe your Natural boyfriend died on you or something…" 

Dearka's once mocking voice echoed through her head.

"I'm surprised that such a crybaby is on this ship…" 

She could remember her anger so well when he had said those words.

"I should be the one crying…" 

She remembered when she had spotted that knife and tried to murder Dearka. She had remembered how Flay pulled the trigger on that gun. She remembered how she had saved Dearka's life. Milly now stared at the resting Dearka and observed him in his harmless status.

"Dearka…" she said without meaning to. The tanned young man grumbled a bit, but then opened his eyes a crack.

"What's wrong Miriallia?" he asked and Milly jumped. She didn't mean to wake him up.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to wake you up," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I was going to wake up sooner or later anyway," he said and a made a big yawn. Birds flew overhead and the wind had settled. The trees had stopped swaying and stood their ground. "Miriallia?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, it's nothing. It's that you kind of seem out of it, if you know what I mean," he said and gazed off into the lovely heavens.

"Well, I was thinking of… Tolle…" she admitted and her voice trailed off. There was a moment of complete silence. "I'm sorry… it's just…"

"Don't be sorry. Tolle died and I don't blame you for being sad," he finished for her. "I bet if I had known him, he would have been a wonderful person for you to be so sad over his death." Milly only nodded.

"Yeah… he was a wonderful person… I… really loved him," she confessed and Dearka felt a hint of jealousy. "I never knew how much I really loved him until he died…" However, then, she suddenly smiled. "But now, I have you and that's what really matters!" Dearka blushed and was so happy he could have jumped up and down, but he kept quiet.

"Thanks… you're what matters to me… too," he stammered and stared at his feet. Both of them blushed like an apple, but Dearka could have fainted when he felt Milly lean against him. He kept quiet however. He didn't want to ruin this perfect moment and put his arms around her.

Yzak watched in disgust as he saw what Dearka was doing. He crossed his arms and leaned against a tree.

"Such worthlessness!" he spat, "what good can a girl do! She'll only hold you back with her feelings!" He stomped and prevented his eyes from observing the couple.

No one would love a solid rock like me… I'm like ice… Only my mother loves me… She's all I need… I don't need some stupid girl dragging me to malls…

The sky started turning red as it neared twilight. Birds flew back to their nests, children started leaving the park, and Dearka and Miriallia headed for the rendezvous point. Yzak followed them, grimacing at their laughter and happiness.

Everyone met at when they had planned to. The couples were all greeted with happy faces and Lacus' eyes were still red.

"Are you alright, Lacus?" Milly asked and the pink-haired girl nodded. Cagalli threw her empty water bottle into a trashcan nearby.

"Well, today was fun, right?" she asked and scanned everyone. Everyone (except for Yzak) nodded in agreement. The princess of Orb sighed. "It's so peaceful… I wish it could always be this way…"

"Whenever we have peace, we should always get on with our lives. We missed so much because of the war, it feels odd to have such peace," Milly said.

"Yes, I agree. It is awkward to be so happy…" Lacus sighed and looked at Kira. "We should be going now…" Kira nodded and took her hand.

"See all of you guys at school, okay?" Kira said. Then, he bid farewell and walked off with Lacus.

One by one, the couples left and talked. Each had gleaming hope in their eyes and love in their hearts. Only Yzak lagged behind…

* * *

A/N: Wahhhh! Poor Yzak:hugs: Anyways, how did you guys like that? It was a little too long I have to admit, but oh well… This is the longest chapter I've ever written in all of my fanfics. Well, thank you for reading and please review! Thank you! 


End file.
